Hic et Nunc
by snowisfalling
Summary: He lay, looking up at the ceiling, just thinking.  How did it end up like this? Ron&Hermione..
1. Recognition

Disclaimer: Obviously all characters belong to J.K Rowling but plot- all mine :)

^ I'm not writing one for every chapter so take it that this applies to everything :)

So yeah, my first ever fan fiction- please read and review guys :}

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He lay, looking up at the ceiling, just thinking. The clock in the grand hall chimed twelve and the castle was silent, but Ronald Weasley was oblivious to the silence and peacefulness. His mind was whirring, cogs turning rapidly slotting into place. He just couldn't understand.

The first day he laid eyes on her. She was small and bossy with a mane of bushy brown hair, but even then the fire and determination lurked in her eyes. Just an eleven year old girl, hoping to make a difference to the world.

Quickly she became one of the lads, good old Hermione, the one who did his homework and scolded him for being untidy and late. He'd never expected to see her like this! Who would've thought it? Hermione Granger, beautiful? Oh but she was. Unbelievably so, Ron was in a state of shock at how he hadn't noticed before! How he hadn't noticed her eyes sparkling, her hair growing sleek and shiny, tumbling down her back in a waterfall of golden chestnut tones. Until tonight.

The start of his seventh year at Hogwarts, NEWT studies were keeping him busy, so busy in fact he hadn't had a proper non work related conversation with Harry in months! So a Yule Ball to celebrate Christmas time was a welcome relief for all the students in his year. All except Ron, whose memories from his fourth year in those dreadful hand me down burgundy monstrosities were far from pleasant. Until a notice went around saying dress robes were optional- thank god

_How had it turned into this?_

_Ron, of all people?_

_Surely not?_

_Her head continually denied it, but her heart sang a different tune._

'Right Harry mate, we need something to wear, other than those dreadful dress robes!'

'I know, I think I saw a shop in Hogsmeade that sold alternative dress wear, like muggles wear?'

'Next trip to Hogsmeade is this weekend so we can have a look?'

'Yeah, sure'

And so they went, casually into Hogsmeade until they found the shop Harry had mentioned, it sold suits and ties and funny things called tuxedos that made you resemble a penguin! The invitation suggested formal wear, the penguin suit it was.

And so he dressed, spritzed a bit of aftershave on and surveyed himself in the mirror.

Well it certainly beat the dress robes!

All students were to assemble in the Entrance hall and wait to be ushered into the Great hall. He stood with Harry and looked over the room, all the boys were in tuxedo's apart from poor Neville who stood proudly in his green dress robes, sticking out like a sore thumb.

'I can't see 'Mione yet', Ron craned his neck to get a better look until he noticed that the attention of everyone in the room was fixed upon the stairs. Then a gasp rippled from person to person. Ron quickly turned around to see what all the fuss was about and nearly had a heart attack!

She stood casually leaning to one side, her hair was swept up, piled in intricate curls on the top of her head, little diamond hair clips sparkled in candle light. Her skin, a creamy shade of pale was smooth and matte, a light dusting of blush gave her cheeks a rosy, cheerful look. But her eyes, oh her eyes, they scanned the room sparkling and dancing bottomless pools of deep chocolate brown.

Her dress was long and a deep shade of blue, it was silky and hung to every curve, accentuating her gorgeous figure, but most of all, the recognition when her eyes met his, the playful warm smile that hung on her lips and danced around his mind, long after all trace of it had been lost. Then Harry called out.

'Hermione, over here.'

And he was hooked.

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Hope you liked it :D

REVIEWWWWW! :)


	2. Hope

She lay in bed thinking. About him, would he ever really see her? As Hermione, not just one of the lads, not as the small bossy girl with the mousy brown hair that he first met on the Hogwarts Express?

Maybe after tonight, she had Ginny help her pick out the perfect dress in Hogsmeade, a long, deep blue, silky number, that clung to every curve. It wasn't what she usually wore but Ginny persuaded her. Tonight she would be perfect, and maybe he'd look into her eyes, and truly see her, for the first time in her life.

Her hair had been piled upon the top of her hair by an expert Ginny, and her makeup was done to perfection. As the clock chimed seven they made to leave the common room.

'Ginny, tell you what, I'll meet you down there, I've just forgotten something, okay?'

'Alright 'Mione but you better hurry up 'cause we're late already'

She raced back up to the dorm room and dived into her trunk, searching, she threw everything onto her bed unitll she found it. A little red box, one that she'd seen her mother slip in, but forgot to open. She undid the little silver ribbon and lifted off the top, gasping she unravelled the most beautiful pair of earring she had ever seen, tiny silver snowflakes encrusted with minuscule gems. She slipped them in and ran down the stairs. Her fingers crossed for what would hopefully be a perfect night.

The Entrance hall was packed with people, she scanned the room searching for that familiar ginger hair.

Then suddenly a gasp spread around the crowd just as she caught sight of him. Oblivious to the whole room Hermione Granger locked eyes with the one she loved. A small smile danced around her lips as she saw the spark of recognition.

_Bloody hell._

_She's beautiful!_

_How did that happen?_

Slowly she made her way down to the pair, the seas of people flowing away creating a channel for her to walk through. There he was tall, his chest and arms toned from quidditch, his mop of ginger hung casually over his electric blue eyes.

'Hey Hermione' his lips pulled up into a little smile.

'Wanna go in?'

And she was hooked.

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Okay so next chapter :)

Reviewww :D


	3. Disappointment

So yeah, finally I found the next part, it was lurking in the back of my head, who knew?

I'd like to thank Just-As-Loony-As-Luna and forgetmenotjimmy for the reviews, they made me smile loads! :D

And to MrsSomerhalder10 whose hilarious comments make me laugh! Kill off Ron? Pfffft as if! ;D

So yeah, read and review guys :)

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It was a whirlwind night for her.

Every boy in the room approached her, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. You name it. Only the Slytherins stuck to each other, but really who'd want to dance with one of them?

Yes, a whirlwind night for her, but nowhere near perfect.

Not at all how she'd dreamt it. Simply because of the absence of one person, the awkward ginger boy who had captured her heart.

Ronald Weasley.

Every boy asked her to dance, or offered to buy a drink, or conversed with her for a few minutes. Except for Ron.

And so the night passed, in between boys she would glance casually over each time to be met with the same sight, Ron just sat in a corner, watching her. She caught his eyes every once in a while but he couldn't look her in the eye for more than a second. What had she done?

Gasping for breath after dancing for the last three hours she bit the bullet and made her way over to Ron.

'Hey Ron, why aren't you dancing?'

'I could ask you the same question' he said gloomily 'I haven't seen you out of someone's arms for three hours.'

'Oh, well I can't exactly say no, can I?'

'I don't suppose so, umm 'Mione?'

'Yeah?'

'Would you like to..'

A Hufflepuff butted in 'Hey, Hermione can I have this dance?'

She looked at Ron.

'What were you saying?'

'Nevermind 'Mione, you can't exactly say no can you?' he shrugged.

Blinking away the tears she took the nameless Hufflepuff's hand and proceeded to dance but never taking her mind away from Ron.

Then when the clock struck midnight and the last dance was announced she started to walk over to his lonely corner, darting away from suitor after suitor.

He wasn't there. Slipped away whilst Hermione had been dealing with her newfound fans.

She made her excuses and made her way to the Gryffindor tower. Stumbling through the portrait hole she ran up to her dormitory and collapsed on her bed sobbing.

So much for a perfect night.

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Hope you enjoyed :)

Reviews?

I'd also like to point out that unless stated I think I'm going to alternate chapters between Hermione and Ron's point of views :)

Thanks guys x


	4. Defeat

updates quicker now guys! :D

It's easier when the first of the pair chapters is wrote :)

I now have an appeal for you guys- REVIEW, on my traffic it says I get quite a few views, but I get hardly any reviews what so ever, so please review guys? x

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It was a terrible night for him.

Every boy in the room approached her, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. You name it. Only the Slytherins stuck to each other, but really who'd want to dance with one of them?

A terrible night, nowhere near perfect.

Not at all how he'd pictured it. Simply as it was missing the geeky, frizzy haired girl to who his heart belonged.

Hermione Granger.

Every boy asked her to dance, or offered to buy a drink, or conversed with her for a few minutes. How could he compete with the rest of them?

And so the night passed, he watched her from his lonely corner, every so often in between boys she would glance over and catch his eye, but he couldn't hold her gaze for more than a second. He wouldn't let himself fall into those rich chocolate pools. He would keep his dignity.

He could see her chest rising and falling as she gasped for breath, three hours of non-stop dancing had taken it's toll. Zoning out for a second he was met with the sight of Hermione a few feet away approaching quickly.

'Hey Ron, why aren't you dancing?' she asked.

'I could ask you the same question, I haven't seen you out of someone's arms for three hours.'

'Oh, well I can't exactly say no, can I?' she said uncertainly.

His time had come, he went for it.

'I don't suppose so, umm 'Mione?'

'Yeah?' she bit her bottom lip, waiting for his answer.

God she was so beautiful!

'Would you like to..' he hesitated.

Was he really about to do this?

A Hufflepuff butted in 'Hey, Hermione can I have this dance?'

She looked at him.

'What were you saying?' she asked.

And he just couldn't do it.

'Nevermind 'Mione, you can't exactly say no can you?'

He thought he saw a glint of moisture in her eye as she allowed the Hufflepuff to lead her away, but surely he must have imagined it. Why would Hermione care enough to shed a tear for him? She wouldn't, simple.

He looked at the clock, five to midnight. Soon to be the last dance, he couldn't bear to see Hermione slow dance with another man. Look adoringly into his eyes, place her head on his chest. Maybe even fall in love.

He just couldn't do it to himself.

So he left, staggering through the portrait hole and up to his room.

So much for a perfect night.


	5. Love?

_So first of all apologies for the extremely long time between updates!_

_Had my mocks and various exams plus a serious case of writer's block- hopefully the chapters will come easier now though :)_

_So I think this story is nearly over, it's ending in my head anyway._

_This chapters Hermione's POV, hope you enjoy & please review? :)_

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Slowly she scanned the Great Hall for Harry and Ron, the morning post had obviously just been as the students were busily opening letters and chatting to their friends. She walked along the bench and slid next to Harry, facing Ron she greeted them.

'Hey guys, have a good night at the ball?'

'Mmhmm' Ron grunted.

Upset by his dismissal Hermione turned to Harry and proceeded to listen how much he had enjoyed his first date with Ginny. Smiling and nodding in all the right places Harry had no idea how she was dying inside.

It should have been their first date.

Their amazing night.

Making her excuses she grabbed her bag of books and made her way through the Entrance Hall, practically running to the Black Lake she curled up against her favourite tree and sobbed. She was so upset that even the sight of her precious books littered across the ground from where she'd thrown her bag previously didn't stir her into action.

She thought and thought. How could she have been so stupid? Why on earth would Ron ever see her as more? She would always be his best friend, the one who did his homework and scolded him for being late, or messy. Fresh tears fell as she remembered all the time she had spent going through his essays hoping that maybe just once when he had looked at her for reassurance he would've seen her. Truly seen her. Not as plain old Hermione but as Hermione the girl he loved.

Her thoughts continued to run away with her, tears rolling down her face until she felt a presence close by. A large, warm hand was placed on her back and someone lowered themselves next to her.

'Umm 'Mione? Are you okay' Ron asked.

She looked at him, he was nervously biting his lip, as if he was actually concerned.

'Just perfect Ron'

'Oh well, you see I thought you didn't seem yourself and Luna said she'd seen you crying and, well, that you'd be here.' Again more of the lip biting.

'Yes well I suppose I've had a lot of things on my mind recently.'

'Me too 'Mione, can I ask you something?'

Her heart suddenly felt like it was pounding at one hundred miles an hour. Surely not?

'What do you do if you really like someone, like maybe even love them, but this person is absolutely perfect, in every single way and has tons of people interested in her, so she probably wouldn't like you?'

She felt like her heart had been ripped in two. Ron was in love, with some pretty, popular girl by the sound of it. She had to be strong, she loved Ron. Moving on was the best thing for her to do right now. If Ron was happy, she was happy right?

'I think you should tell her, you never know how she truly feels unless you tell her, face to face.'

'Oh okay, thanks Hermione, I know I can always count on you.'

'Yeah, good old dependable Hermione' she grimaced.

'So you seemed to have a good night at the ball, never stopped dancing from what I saw.'

'You never danced once, at least I never saw you.'

'The right girl was having far too much fun to dance with me.'

'The right boy didn't seem to care.'

Should she tell him? Look at the advice she just gave him about that other girl. That other girl. Oh Merlin's beard, what should she do?

'Ro..' 'Herm..'

'Oh you first' she blushed.

'No, it's okay ladies first.'

'Together?'

'Okay if you say so, after three'

She began to count, '1..2..3'

'I love you.' 'I love you.'


	6. The End

The morning post flew in, owls of all shapes and sizes. Tawny, Snowy, Barn and many that he couldn't name. As always with the morning post an aura of excitement filled the room but Ron Weasley was oblivious to it all. He couldn't get the previous night out of his mind, what had he done to deserve such a rubbish night?

'Hey guys, have a good night at the ball?' Hermione greeted them cheerily.

A good night? Not one bit.

'Mmhmm.'

No reply. He looked up to find Hermione listening to Harry's account of a perfect first date with Ginny. She was smiling and nodding in all the right places, but a glazed look in her eye told Ron that her mind was elsewhere. He stared into those beautiful chocolate eyes until he was sure he could detect a hint of moisture. He opened his mouth to say something, but not before Hermione had made her excuses and grabbed her books. Practically running out of the Great Hall, Harry just looked at him.

'Um I think I'll just go ask her about Snape's potions essay, okay?'

'Whatever Ron' a glint in his eye told Ron he may have guessed his true intentions, but he had no time to worry.

He hurried out of the Great Hall, quickly scanning the Entrance Hall he made his way outside colliding with Luna.

'Oh sorry Luna'

'She's by the Black Lake' Luna said dreamily.

'Pardon?'

'Hermione, she's by the Black Lake.' Luna picked her books up and ambled past Ron humming a tune to herself.

Ron continued outside and towards the Black Lake, he spotted Hermione curled up against a tree. Slowly he approached and placed a hand on her back.

'Umm 'Mione? Are you okay'

He felt himself gnawing on his lip, signs of nervousness.

'Just perfect Ron' she replied, tear tracks stained her face.

'Oh well, you see I thought you didn't seem yourself and Luna said she'd seen you crying and, well, that you'd be here.'

His lip would be in tatters soon.

'Yes well I suppose I've had a lot of things on my mind recently.' She whispered.

'Me too 'Mione, can I ask you something?'

Should he? He remembered a saying he'd seen in a book (one he'd actually read)- Hic et Nunc. Now or never. Over and over it played in his head until he looked down and realised she waiting for him to speak.

'What do you do if you really like someone, like maybe even love them, but this person is absolutely perfect, in every single way and has tons of people interested in her, so she probably wouldn't like you?'

He saw her face fall. He felt like his heart had been ripped in two. She didn't feel the same way, there was someone else. He knew it, probably one of the many boys she danced with at the ball. How could he be so stupid? Why would Hermione, beautiful, brave, smart ever have feelings for a scrawny ginger boy like him?

'I think you should tell her, you never know how she truly feels unless you tell her, face to face.' A weak smile appeared on her face.

'Oh okay, thanks Hermione, I know I can always count on you.'

'Yeah, good old dependable Hermione' she grimaced.

If she was happy, so was he.

'So you seemed to have a good night at the ball, never stopped dancing from what I saw.'

'You never danced once, at least I never saw you.'

'The right girl was having far too much fun to dance with me.'

'The right boy didn't seem to care.'

Should he tell him? Look at the advice she just gave him. What if that advice didn't apply to him? Oh Merlin's beard, what should he do?

'Ro..' 'Herm..'

'Oh you first' she blushed.

How beautiful she looked when she blushed.

'No, it's okay ladies first.' He smiled, manners never hurt.

'Together?'

'Okay if you say so, after three'

She began to count, '1..2..3'

'I love you.' 'I love you.'


End file.
